Prepare To Die
Tim Griffin

Prepare To Die
lyrics and music by Tim Griffin, copyright 2021

I know a man who needs killing
We fought once before near Toledo in Spain
My hand and my heart were both willing
But my body and mind were untrained
His only mistake was to leave me alive
The next time we meet, only one will survive
If you fear me, it’s not paranoia
If you think you can take me, you’re welcome to try
For my name is Inigo Montoya
You killed my father, prepare to die

I spent the next decade in training
Dedicating my heart to the art of the blade
To keep the fight fair, began feigning
From the right to the left hand I’d trade
In my left hand are one thousand ways I can kill
I’ll show you the right one is deadlier still
In a fencing match I will destroy ya
You’re not really left-handed, well neither am I
For my name is Inigo Montoya
You killed my father, prepare to die

There is only one man who is faster
Only one who can beat me with left hand or right
Now the man in the mask is my master
And I’ll follow him into the fight
He has offered his help in my quest if he can
If only to find me a six-fingered man
From the land of Velazquez and Goya
I will shout in your face as I spit your eye
That my name is Inigo Montoya
You killed my father, prepare to die.

You’ll recall, you once bested a boy-a
Well, you now face the man and your death is now nigh
For my name is Inigo Montoya
You killed my father
Prepare to die!

Notes

This song is part of an upcoming project called "Read Me," a collection of songs by Tim and others about our favorite books for young readers. Of course, the movie is wonderful too; but if you have not yet read the book The Princess Bride by William Goldman you really should go do that right now.

Playing this song on guitar: There are far more chords here than I usually use. None of them are very hard, but since there are a lot of them I will copy the first verse here here. Getting the chord names to line up nicely with the lyrics is tricky, so use your ears to figure out when the changes come.

Dm       C             Dm
I know a man who needs killing

    Dm           C9           Am7     A7
We fought once before near Toledo in Spain

   Dm          Am              C     A
My hand and my heart were both willing

       Dm        Am          Dm
But my body and mind were untrained

    Dm      C9          Am7        A7
His only mistake was to leave me alive

    Dm           Am         C           A
The next time we meet, only one will survive

       Gm                     Dm
If you fear me, it’s not paranoia
       Gm                            Dm         Am
If you think you can take me, you’re welcome to try

       Gm        C      Dm
For my name is Inigo Montoya

Am            Dm       A         Dm
You killed my father, prepare to die

Each verse is the same, but the last Dm transitions to a D major at the end of verse 2 and verse 4. LMK if you have questions or corrections; goodness knows I get these things wrong sometimes, so I rely on my community to catch my errors and help me fix them!